Tuesday, 21 October 2014 00:01
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The Colombo District branch of the Sri Lanka Scout Association celebrated 100 years of scouting in Colombo this year. To mark the occasion, the Colombo Scouts Centenary Dinner will be held at the Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo on 25 October from 7.00 p.m. onwards.
Scouting has a rich history, commencing in 1914, and has provided great leaders to society.
Colombo has been celebrating the centenary year with several events including the Colombo Centenary International Scout Jamboree in Madampe.
Lord Robert Stevenson Smyth Baden Powell known as Baden Powell of Gilwell, created the scouting movement in 1907 and over 40 million youth around the world are in the scout movement. The movement strives to increase their members’ involvement in their own community. The mission is to enable boys and girls to develop to their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world.
The Sri Lankan scout movement was nurtured by District Civil Engineer F.G. Stevens, who was employed in the Public Works Department in Matale. He started the first Boy Scout group at Christ Church College Matale.
The story goes that Stevens was greatly troubled by the unruly acts of the school boys next door who made more than a nuisance of themselves as they ransacked his garden. He decided to do something about putting the boys’ spare time to better use and came up with the idea of starting a Boy Scout troop, which was already a major success in England.
Upon establishing the first scout troop, Stevens became its Chief Commissioner from 1912 to 1920 within which period he also started the publication Ceylon Scout. Stevens left the country in 1945 on retirement.
His services to the movement were recognised by Lord Baden Powell who awarded Stevens the ‘Silver Wolf’, which is the highest award for adult leaders. F.G. Stevens will always be remembered as the founder and father of Sri Lankan scouting. On 14 June 1914 the first Colombo - President’s Own - scout troop, which is the first open scout troop and the third scout troop of Sri Lanka, was established. The Colombo Scouts Centenary Dinner will provide an opportunity for the current and former scouts, scouters and veterans in scouting to look back at what they have done to their communities and the country at large and to continue to pledge to uphold the vision of its founder Baden Powell who believed that the fraternity of scouting could do much for social and civil amity.
Thus its objective could be said to inculcate in a scout the spirit of self-respect and love for his community and country; all this and more learned in a sharing, caring and fun atmosphere. Fourteen scouting personalities will be felicitated at this event for their dedication, commitment and services extended voluntarily to the district movement and the country at large.
